8 GLENNYS HANDBOOK 



frost during winter. Soil, half loam, a fourth of rotten dung, 

 and a fourth brick rubbish or broken flower-pots. Propagated 

 by suckers. The American Aloe is an aristocratic-looking 

 plant, often seen in pairs before the villas round the metro- 

 polis, and is said to bloom once in a hundred years, which is 

 a popular delusion : it, in fact, blooms but once. It is 

 always treated as a greenhouse plant, and nobody cares about 

 its flowering, because that finishes its career. There is 

 hardly a more noble-looking plant; but the flower is more 

 curious tlian beautiful. The flower- stem grows fifteen or 

 twenty feet high, and throws out horizontal branches, full of 

 yellowish-green flowers, which stand upright. The plants, 

 fully grown in adequate tubs, look truly noble. They should 

 have plenty of room in the greenhouse, and be out on the 

 lawn from May to October. The principal one is A. Americana 

 (American Aloe), flowers greenish. The variegated - leaved 

 variety is a distinct and pretty object. There are many other 

 species. 



AGERATUM. [Compositae.] Hardy or half-hardy an- 

 nuals, of which A. Mexicaniim or odoratum alone is worth 

 growing. Light rich soil. Propagated by seeds, which 

 should be sown in March in a warm frame, and pricked out 

 and hardened for planting out in May. A later bloom may 

 be obtained by sowing in April in the places where they are 

 to bloom, the plants being thinned to give them room after 

 they come up. In beds they should not be less than six 

 inches apart. 



AGONOSMA. [Apocynace^.] Elegant stove climbing 

 shrubs. Soil, sandy loam and peat. Propagated by cuttings 

 in a brisk heat. A. canjophyllata, flowers pale yellow. A. 

 Roxburghii (Roxburgh's), flowers straw colour. 



AGRIMONIA. Agrimony. [Rosacese.] Hardy herba- 

 ceous perennials. Common soil. Propagated by division. 

 A. odorata and A. suaveolens, flower yellow, in July. 



AGROSTEMMA. [Caryophyllace^e.] Hardy perennials, 

 with Lychnis-like flowers. They should be planted in a pre- 

 pared rich loamy soil, and are increased by division. The 

 Rose Campion is best treated as a biennial, fresh plants being 

 annually raised about May for the next year's flowering. 

 They grow readily in ordinary garden soil. A. Bungeana, 



